Blaming Gravity
by Readwriteedit
Summary: Of course it would happen in a bowling alley. She had never had any luck bowling. Einstien claimed that you can't blame gravity for falling in love, but Skye Penderwick was more than willing to try. Sorry, Einstien. This one is beyond even you. T just in case. Chapter 3 is up now! (Note: I don't own anything.)
1. Chapter 1

_"You can't blame gravity for falling in love." ~ Albert Einstein _

* * *

Of course it would happen in a bowling alley. She had never had any luck bowling.

There was the time when she stepped just a little to far into the lane and was quickly acquainted with the physics of wax. And then there were the numerous slammed fingers she received trying to retrieve her ball from the ball return. Not to mention the two sprained ankles and one bruised wrist.

So it wasn't too surprising that this latest catastrophe would take place in the poorly lit grime of "Boston Lanes."

What was surprising was that it happened at all.

After eight years of friendship, this latest development was the last thing she had ever expected—the last thing she had ever wanted. And yet, apparently, it was out of her control.

One second she was listening to her good friend Samantha jabber on about the history test she was supposed to be studying for, only vaguely aware of Jeffrey picking up his ball and moving forward towards his lane. The next second his arm was extended, and left foot curved back behind his right, and she suddenly couldn't hear Sam anymore.

The ball hit the pins with a _CRASH!_, knocking them all over, and he leapt up into the air in celebration, but she couldn't even bring herself to smile for him as he received high fives from all around.

She was frozen stock still. She couldn't move, she couldn't feel, and she couldn't process the thought that had just burst—completely unwelcome—into her mind.

He was cute. Jeffrey Tifton was cute. _Good God._ This was a nightmare.

* * *

He wasn't entire sure what was up with Skye. She had always been a horrific actor, and so it wasn't very hard to tell the the headache she was faking was just that: fake.

But she must have had a good reason—Skye didn't lie unless she thought it was absolutely necessary—and so he played along with it.

"Gosh, I'm sorry. Let me drive you back to your dorm."

An odd look—almost one of panic—took over her eyes for a brief second before she regained control, only adding to his confusion.

"Um… That's okay. I'll take the bus. Thanks though."

"Yeah, like I'm going to allow that. Not gonna happen, Skye. Come on, I've just got to grab my keys."

She shook her head, adamantly refusing. "It's okay. Sam will drive me, won't you, Sam?"

She grabbed her friend by the air and dragged her close, almost as if using her as a shield. The red-headed girl gave her a look that appeared to question her sanity, and responded with a very indecisive, "Um…."

But apparently Skye didn't care what the answer was, because she mutter a grateful "Thanks," hollered her goodbyes out to everyone, and took off, dragging Samantha behind her.

He watched them go, still a bit in muddled about the oddity that had just occurred. Steve, Sam's boyfriend, came up next to him, shaking his head.

"What the heck was that all about?"

Jeffrey just shrugged. "I have no idea."

He had learned not to let Skye's antics get to him. He was bound to find out sooner or later. It was only a matter of time before they got her in trouble, and he was called in for damage-control. Hopefully it wouldn't be _too_ bad this time…

**(To be continued...)**


	2. Chapter 2

_Two weeks later…_

She wasn't entirely sure how she would describe the weeks that followed. Slowly the anger wore off, and the fear she had expected to replace it never really came. Instead, she found herself faced with an odd combination of disbelief and resignation.

The attraction itself wasn't entirely unfamiliar. She had already had a boyfriend, and gone on numerous dates with other hopefuls, most of whom had never gotten more than a three hour chance. She had found guys cute before (not that she would ever admit that to anyone she knew), and so it wasn't too hard to adjust to the fact that her heart sped up just a little bit when he came into the room, and that—sadly—there wasn't much she could do to cure that.

But she had never in her life imagined that Jeffrey—_Jeffrey Tifton!_—would be the cause of such heart trauma.

Yet she was confident that it would pass with time, and so she wasn't too worried.

At least, she wasn't until he called to ask her to go with him to the museum.

And as hard as she tried to squash it, there was that stupid little voice inside of her that asked, "A date, maybe?"

* * *

It didn't take long, however, for it to become painfully clear that whatever the outing was, it certainly wasn't a date.

First off, he picked her up at 8… _in the morning_. Not exactly the most romantic time of day.

He then packed her into the car with about about 3 dozen cold cut sandwiches and proceeded to blast music into her ears while jabbering on and on about other girls he had dated.

Yeah, not a date…

After listening through tales about Sofia, Sarah, Sabrina, and Sadie (apparently he had a thing for names starting in S) she finally figured out what he was doing.

He was letting her down softly. This was his subtle (not!) way of letting her know that he had found out about her feelings, but really wasn't interested.

Ouch.

And so, like the brave soldier she was, she faked her best bored look and asked him to please talk about something else because all this rambling was making her nauseous. And if she had to bite the inside of her cheek every time he reached over her to grab a sandwich so that she didn't grin like an idiot at the accidental contact, she would carry that secret with her to her grave.

Hormones were her least favorite part of science, but they could be dealt with and ignored, just like anything else.

**(To be continued…)**

* * *

_Spark Writer - Glad to hear it. Hopefully I'll be able to keep that interest… :-) Thanks for the support! You're always WAY too kind in your reviews. (Not that I'm complaining…) _

_Applesandbanannas - Awww… You're sweet! The school year is starting to wind down, and I'm finding myself with some extra time, so I wanted to do a multi-chapter fic. I've missed them!_

_GinervaMollyWeasleyPotter - Thank you! Stay tuned: there's a surprise at the end that might back up that last part of your review… :-) Hint, hint. _

_Thank you guys for all your support. I couldn't—and wouldn't—do it without you!_


	3. Chapter 3

At first she thought she was just imagining it. But after 3 hours of him following her silently around from exhibit to exhibit and listening to her talk on and on about the zero-resistance technology of the planes that were strung up over their heads, without once telling her to shut up, she knew something was off.

"Jeffrey?"

"Hmm?" He seemed sort of absent, lost in his own little world.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"I don't know..." Something was just a little different. He seemed... "Jeffrey, are you _nervous_ about something?!"

He blinked. "Um, no. What would I be nervous about?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking."

"Well, believe me, I'm not nervous."

"Okay."

They were silent for a few moments, staring up at the Lockheed SR-72 hanging above their heads. She knew she really ought to just let the matter drop, but she couldn't bring herself to.

"You aren't dying or anything, are you?"

He turned his head to the side to glance down at her, smiling slightly. "No, Skye, I'm not dying."

"Good."

Then another, even more frightening thought hit her.

"_Good God._ You aren't trying to tell me that you're dating Jane now, or something, are you?"

He chuckled, eyes still latched onto the plane. "No, definitely not."

"That's right; her name doesn't start with an S."

This time he looked at her. "What?"

"Come on, Jeffrey... Sofia, Sarah, Sabrina, Sally... Have you really not noticed that all the girls you've dated have names staring with S?"

"Sadie."

She blinked, confused. "What?"

"Her name was Sadie, not Sally. Just think Sexy Sadie."

She stared at him.

"It's a song?"

Another blank stare.

"By the Beatles?"

She just looked at him.

"Okay, you know what, just forget it."

She nodded. "Gladly. But come on, you have to know you have a weird obsession with the letter S."

"Come on, Skye, just drop it, okay?"

"Why? Who's next? Samantha?"

She had that gleam in her eye now. If he didn't stop her soon she would spontaneously combust with mischief.

"Ooh, that's it, isn't it? You're going to make a move on Samantha!" She dropped her voice a few octaves, the teasing ringing out loud and clear. "Does Steve know?"

"Oh, come on. It's not like that and you know it."

She smiled, fake gasping and clutching an overdramatized hand to her heart. "Am I next?"

He groaned and rolled his eyes.

"You can tell me..." She was grinning now, but he suddenly didn't care that she was teasing.

"Can I?"

"Yeah."

The tone of their conversation had changed dramatically, switching from lighthearted to serious in the blink of an eye. Somehow, they both knew that this was important.

"Look, Skye, I don't really know how to say this..."

"Say what?"

"Skye, you're an amazing person, and you know that I think you're spectacular, right?"

She nodded, almost imperceptibly, surprised at how hard she had to try to fight back tears. This was it. Apparently he didn't think the earlier hints had been enough, and he was going to tell her outright, once and for all, that she needed to move on.

Well, that wasn't going to be necessary. She still had some pride left, and she certainly wasn't about to let him deliver some fine speech about how they would never work.

"Jeffrey, look, I know what you're trying to say."

"You _do_?" He looked rather shocked.

"Yes, and I really appreciate it. But you don't have to. I understand." She took a deep breath and forced a smile onto her face, but kept her eyes on her hands, not quite able to look him in the face. "Don't worry; I'll get over you."

"Oh, please don't do that!"

Her eyes widened, and she glanced up, confused.

"What?"

"I really wish you wouldn't 'get over me'."

He was smiling now, much to her chagrin. Just how far would he go for an ego trip?

"And why not?"

"Because it would make what I was trying to tell you rather pointless."

"Huh?" Not the most eloquent response ever, but it served its purpose because he was grinning now.

"Skye, I really like you."

"Well, I would hope so..."

"No, I mean I _like_ like you." Was it her imagination, or was he actually blushing?

"What are you, 12?" She slid closer to him, so close she could count each freckle on his nose.

"No, I'm 18..."

"Jeffrey." She slid her hands up to the lapel of his coat, and leaned closer. "I think we're a bit beyond the elementary school crush stage..."

"Are we?"

"Yeah."

She could never remember who leaned in first, but somehow their lips met, and then it didn't matter.

She had waited for this for, well, about 2 weeks, but it was well worth the anguish. Their mouths slid together like they had been formed for that one purpose alone.

And when he broke it off gently, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

"Are you sure I'm not just a temporary fix for your S obsession?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"How do you know?"

She was just teasing, and expected him to tease her back. So when his answer came, it knocked the wind right out of her.

"Because you're the one who started it."

**(End.)**

* * *

_Dedication_

_To my parents: _

_Hope you don't mind that I stole your story. Think of it as an anniversary gift. :-) Here's to your last 18 years, and many, many more. I would not be doing this if it weren't for you two. Literally. :-) _

_Love you. xoxoxo_

* * *

_So, know that you know the story that brought me into existence... On to reviews! _

_PUCKABRINGALOVER - Thank you! Hopefully you still do! _

_PenderwickFan101 - Wow. Okay, you officially win the best review award. (Sadly, I have nothing to give you but a virtual high-five.) Thanks for ALL the kind words. They mean a lot. _

_Applesandbananas - Thank you! Keeping characters IC is very important to me, but I certainly have my slip-ups... :-)_

_GinervaMollyWeasleyPotter - Thanks! I have lived, breathed, and slept Skyffrey for so long that I think they're permanently engrained into my very being... :-) _

_Spark Writer - Haven't we all? Yeah, not very much fun... :-( Incidentally, I think it would simplify matters a great deal if we just formed a mutual admiration society. :-) We've tossed back and forth so many compliments for so long that it's only a matter of time before we run out of new things to say. Can we have a secret hand-shake? Please? :-) _

_Thank you all for the incredible support. I really appreciate it! _

_Signing off (for now),_

_Readwriteedit_


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